Nail Tips

I've already written a much better version of this post but, alas, it is floating in some trash can in cyberspace, probably lost forever. That's what I get for deciding to have different email accounts for both of my blogs. Gah. Anyway, it went something like this:

I've had a few suggestions that I should do a post about nail stuff. This is probably because one of my alter egos is Miss Mani Pedi (I can't take any credit for this name - that goes to Ms Emma Hamilton, one of my all time fave peeps). I have a couple of nail qualifications from Essential Nails, a provider of excellent 'at home' nail courses and a general obsession with nail varnish and nail art. I adore going on Pinterest and trying out all the awesome designs on there. In fact, here are a few designs I did on my own nails a little while ago a couple of which were inspired by good old Pinterest:

I think that a good manicure makes all the difference to how you feel. The other day at work, in fact, I found myself admiring my delicious red manicured nails and smiling to myself. I may have also accidentally shared the joy I felt when looking at my nails with my colleagues. I was greeted with worried/disinterested looks. Ah well. So since I have such a great love of all things nail-y it is apt that I share some nail tips and love with you in the infancy of this blog.

I'm going to start with my top 5 tips for doing a long lasting manicure/pedicure on yourself.

1. Make sure your nails are clean of all dirt and old varnish - best way to do this is with nail varnish remover. My fave brand is Cutex, which can be found in most Boots and Superdrug stores, but any will do really.

2. Remove or, at the very least, push back your cuticles (this is the skin at the bottom and edge of the nail which grows up onto the nail). If your varnish gets onto the cuticle it will be more likely to lift as the nail grows, and so won't last as long.

3. ALWAYS use a base coat. This not only stops your nails getting stained, but also helps the colour adhere to the nail plate. It's a bit like using a primer underneath your make up. And your base coat should ideally be different to your top coat. I'm not a big believer in these 2-in-1 or 3-in-1 coats as the job of a base coat is very different to that of the top coat. My fave is from Dream Nails and can be bought from the Essential Nails website. It dries nice and quickly and has a matte finish, as do all the best base coats I've used.

4. Leave plenty of time for your mani or pedi to dry, particularly between layers. You ideally need about 30 mins before doing anything significant (ie cooking dinner, going to the loo ... you get the idea). I know, I know, this is quite a long time. BUT what's the point of going to all that effort to apply all those coats and make sure you clean up the edges (I use a q-tip soaked in remover, in case you were wondering) if you then smudge it a matter of minutes later just because you were impatient?! I've yet to find anything that dries varnish any quicker without also affecting the finish, so I think it just comes down to old fashioned patience.

5. ALWAYS use a top coat. This should ideally go just over the edge of each nail, to kind of cap it in varnish, as this will avoid chipping at the edge. This will make your nails nice and shiny (or matte if you're into the matte top coat thing) and will stop the colour scratching off on hard surfaces. I forgot to top coat my nails once after putting on a deep shade of red/burgundy and I left dark red marks on paperwork at work, walls and even tables. Oops. Again, my favourite brand is the Dream Nails top coat. Dries quickly and has a super shiny finish.

Those are my very basic 5 rules - there are a few more things I like to do (including finishing with cuticle oil), but since this is the second time I've written this out already, I'll leave it at that for now! If you're interested in anything else or have any specific questions about hand/foot/nail care then pop a comment below. I'm gonna follow this post up later this week with one about my favourite brands and colours of nail varnish - here's a picture of my collection to give you a little taste...

Don't forget to check out my other blog and also my little sister's blog and YouTube channel (Bethybonsslds).

Thanks for tuning in and see you soon peeps,

Laurelle xoxo

Disclaimer: I do not get paid (or anything of that sort) in order to provide opinions on any of the products mentioned in this or   any of my other posts. If only...

My first post - Haul and Review

Hi peeps! Welcome to my brand spanking new blog. I'm Laurelle (well, Laurelle Jo, hence the Lo Jo, like J-Lo - see what I did there?!) and I will be your server today.

I have been an avid watcher and follower of beauty blogs and blogs for a while now and I decided I was going to give it a go myself. I am a bit of a collector of nice things, such as make-up, nail varnish, clothes, shoes, books, music, DVDs .... I am a self-confessed (recovering) shopaholic and my wardrobes and cupboards bear witness to this fact. As a result of now being more careful with my money, I take more time to read and watch reviews before spending my hard earned cash, rather than just buying things willy nilly, as I used to do. This has been a difficult habit to form, as I am an impatient person and I'm all about immediate gratification - I thrived on the buzz of retail therapy (and still do, if I'm honest ;-)). I'm also quite expert at finding a bargain, and would like to share my tips and tricks with all of you out on the the interwebz!

I'm not going to bore you with lots of information about me right now, as I'm hoping to make this a regular thing, and maybe even start a channel on YouTube (scares me slightly, but could be fun...), so anyone who doesn't know me already should start to get a good picture of the kind of person I am by following my posts here. I also have a more self-indulgent blog called Rella's Reflections, which I created to keep people up to date with some travelling I did around SE Asia, Australasia and Canada last year (and which I failed to keep up to date because, well, I was having too much flipping fun tbh!), and which I'm now going to update with random thoughts and experiences.

So, down to business. I'm going to start with a mini-haul from a little trip I made into town yesterday - with Valentines coming up I thought it was a good excuse to treat myself :-)

I started off in TK Maxx and picked up a couple of little goodies.

I got two matching boxes which will be perfect as memory/picture boxes. I'm in the process of organising everything I've kept (theatre programmes, tickets, pictures, cards etc.) from memorable occasions over the years and decided I'd organise them into memory boxes as I'm far too lazy to put them into scrapbooks! They are bright pink and grey(fave colours). Love them and they were a bargain at £3.99 each.

I also picked up this loverly microfibre hair turban, in leopard print (love animal print too) - I have long hair and hate using a big towel to dry it. Plus we have a cold house and the towel always takes ages to dry. This way I get a much smaller, neater towel which dries quicker AND I get to look cool when I get out the shower. Yeah right.

Finally, I have been looking for a nice leave in conditioner/spray type thing for a while as my Aussie one just isn't cutting it now that my hair is getting longer. I found the one below by Amara - it's a 'nourishment spray for shine and vitality for drier, frizzy, damaged or coarse hair'. I've got 3/4 of those, so I'll let you know if it helps! Oh, and it smells lovely, like the hairdressers :-). There was a KMS one I almost got as I like their products, but it smelt WEIRD, so that was a no-no.

I then moved onto Primarni, just for a mooch really, but came out with 3 pairs of shoes and two tops - I know what you're thinking. I'm not a Shopaholic in recovery, I'm in denial. BELIEVE me, if you'd known me in my shopaholic days you would know that this is nothing compared to what I would have got on a 'mooch around town'! And it was nearly all in the sale. Bargalicious. The two pairs of flat studded slipper shoes were £6 each down from £10. This is the third pair of the black ones I've owned - they are RIDIC comfy and I more or less live in them at the moment. I've worn out one pair and nearly worn out my second. So this pair will probably be used v soon. The nude coloured ones will be great in spring/summer.

The black velvet heels were £6 down from £12 and are a classic. Every girl needs some LBSs in their wardrobe (Little Black Shoes, obvs) to go with their LBD.

This was the only denim shirt like this on the sale rail - they had some very similar at full price in a different part of the shop for £13 - but this one was £5. Heck. Yes.

And I picked up this amazing t-shirt - I love my superheroes and for only £6 it would have been rude not to. It's quite big and baggy so I'm thinking it'll look good with some leggings, my denim jacket and my vans. Yep.

Last of all, I went to Superdrug and Boots. I spent AGES down the make up aisles. The shop assistants started to give me funny looks.... Anyway, picked up a new dry shampoo by Fat Hair - I've only ever used and LOVE Batiste, espesh the thickening one, but this was half price and I thought I'd see how it compared. I'll keep you updated.

I also got the collection 2000 concealer which bloggers have been raving about for a while. It's about £4 and apparently is a bit of a star even compared to high end concealers. I got it in light but I think I will need to get the medium one too to mix to my skin colour. The formulation is quite thick but creamy, so great for dry skin. You can see from the pics that its got amazing coverage. Again, gonna give this a try and report back.

I also picked up three Apocalips lip glosses from Rimmel in Stellar, Big Bang and Celestial. These were released last month I think and have been raved about massively. I love bright colours and hate having to worry about topping up my lips every half hour - these are very pigmented and have staying power. I wore Celestial today and it lasted a good 4/5 hours without having to top up and without smudging. I've swatched below, but unfortunately they all come out a bit orangey on my camera :-( And yes, I know, I have a wonky bottom lip. Ugh.

These are with the flash (ones below are without) and are truer to the actual colour - from top to bottom they are Big Bang, Stellar and Celestial.

Stellar - actually a bright coral pink. It will be awesome in summer - cant wait to use it.

Big Bang - a signature classic red. Every girl needs this in their make up bag, if you ask me.

Celestial - this is very close to the natural colour of my lips with a slightly plummy hue to it. Great for every day wear.

I'm going to give these a go over the coming month and let you know what I think, but so far, I'm loving them. Oh, and they are on 3 for 2 in Boots at the moment (along with all Rimmel products, of which there are many brilliant ones at the mo) so head down and grab a bargain! I'm already considering buying another 3....

Hope you enjoyed this and found it useful - let me know if it's too long/too short or if you want to know anything else. And, if you are interested in seeing my ugly mug and hearing my natterings in video let me know too!

Bye for now!

Laurelle xoxo

P.S. The nail varnish I'm wearing is Monsoon-er or Later by OPI and my butterfly bed covers are from Aura on justlinen.co.uk.